Stepping up its efforts to block final clearance to commercial cultivation of genetically modified (GM) mustard, the Sangh Parivar outfit Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) on Tuesday brought prominent anti-GM voices on its platform and sought the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention to withhold the government's approval of the transgenic variety of oil-seed.

| TNN | May 23, 2017, 20:04 IST

(Representative image)

NEW DELHI: Stepping up its efforts to block final clearance to commercial cultivation of genetically modified (GM) mustard, the Sangh Parivar outfit Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) on Tuesday brought prominent anti-GM voices on its platform and sought the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention to withhold the government's approval of the transgenic variety of oil-seed.
The Manch in its letter to the Prime Minister said that the central regulator - Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) - has shown "undue haste" in giving its nod for commercial cultivation of the GM mustard on the basis of wrong presumption that the same would increase yield and reduce the country's edible oil import bill.

"We would like to emphatically state that this presumption is based on manipulated data, false conclusions and lobbying by vested interests", said Ashwani Mahajan, national co-convenor of the SJM in the letter to Modi.

The Sangh outfit in its letter argued that the GM mustard variety, which got its approval from the GEAC, was "not at all Swadeshi (indigenous)" and alleged that a multi-national seed company owns the patent of the genes which were used by a Delhi University institution to develop the particular variety of the transgenic oil-seed.

Alleging that the "truth is being shielded in this matter and government is being misguided about the safety, yield and IPR (due to patented genes)", the Manch appealed to Modi to intervene in the matter and ensure that no permission is given to the GM mustard.

Vandana Shiva of Navdanya, lead petitioner in GM Mustard case in the Supreme Court Aruna Rodrigues and Delhi University scientist P Pardha Saradhi joined Ashwani Mahajan and tried to highlight many inconsistencies in the claims made by the applicant of the GM mustard which had early this month got the nod of the GEAC.

"We have written a letter to the Prime Minister to inform about the scientific, agronomical and biosafety fraud of this GM Mustard. We know the PM will listen to our request and act in the interest of Indians", said Mahajan.

The fate of the GM mustard depends on final approval from the environment ministry.

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